It is commonplace to provide an electrical connector on a vehicle for accepting a corresponding connector that is cable-connected to electrical components of a towed apparatus, e.g. a trailer, boat, etc. Because of the multiplicity of components in vehicles for such things as running lights, brake lights, and signal lights, as well as electric brakes and other auxiliary equipment, the vehicle connector may provide seven or more contact terminals, e.g. arrayed in a circular pattern about a central terminal. The towed apparatus, however, may not require connection to each contact terminal, and thus may include a connector having fewer contact terminals than the vehicle connector.
In such cases, adaptors have been developed for making appropriate electrical connections from a vehicle to a towed apparatus. For example, 7-way (on vehicle) to 4-way (on towed apparatus) adaptors are well known. Alternatively, vehicles have been provided with multiple connector types to eliminate the need for an adaptor. In one example, a vehicle may be provided with both 7-way and 4-way connectors, each having their own wiring harness and connections to the vehicle electrical system.
Cost and water corrosion have, however, been persistent problems with known vehicle connector types. Four-way, connectors, for example, are typically encapsulated with soft rubber and include a molded, flexible cover to protect the connector when no plug is inserted in the socket. These four-way connectors are susceptible to water intrusion through the cover, as well as through the exit location of the wires at the rear of the connector. This water intrusion typically causes corrosion of the four-way contacts. In addition, in the case where multiple vehicle connectors are provided to avoid the use of an adaptor the separate wire harnesses for the connectors and the separate connector components are costly.
There is, therefore, a need for a connector configuration that may be cost-effectively produced and is resistant to corrosion caused by water intrusion. There is also a need in the art of a combined connector configuration that may be cost-effectively produced and is resistant to corrosion caused by water intrusion.